opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
'Covid' Ops: The Bayer-Monsanto dichotomy
I only have to see the name Bayer mentioned in an article about health-care, drugs, cancer or anything to do with medicine and the hackles on the back of my neck become raised… this company played a huge part in the Third Reich’s assault on mankind and its record on human-rights violations hasn’t improved greatly ever since.
By Steve Harrison6 years ago in The Swamp
3rd May 2020 - World Press Freedom Day
Before reading any further just return to the graph at the header. It shows over 5 years where a country has been ranked by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in terms of press freedom against other countries A green bar shows improvement year on year and a red bar shows deterioration. Hold that image and read on.
By Alan Russell6 years ago in The Swamp
What Good Has Come Out of Coronavirus?
Coronavirus has less pollution happening on this planet, since people are in stay home mode. The Bay Area traffic, which gets very bad, has thinned out. I'm happy I get to stay home rather than drag myself to therapy. I was doing really well getting out of the house daily when the virus hit with the stay at home order. Staying at home is a more humane way of dealing with it when the United States is coming undone, lacking the resources to do something worse to the population. I leave it up to you to decide what that is about. Businesses now let people work from home when they said that was not an option. They cannot fire people for being ill if they send them to work from home. I feel for essential workers though since they are exposing themselves to the virus. I want to interview people after the fact, over Skype if need be. I haven't used my Skype in months if not a year or two by now. Coronavirus did come from a lab at the very least, I believe it did anyway. What scares me is that they pretty much know this but aren't telling people this was the case. They are trying to see why this happened so that it can be prevented. Sure, but people need to work together on a vaccine. Countries with better health care systems ought to be working with the United States. But no, we are drifting further into xenophobia because of the travel bans. And now there are threats of not bailing out the postal service, when in fact billionaires could step up and fund them with their money. Who is willing to step up and do this? Not everybody wants to do that. Keeping the postal service functional is necessary because shutting it down is unconstitutional and cannot be done. Some people, if they have gotten sick from the virus, can now see that our country is being led by someone-with ill-will towards the people. His supporters are dwindling in number. That is an outlandish, and crazy suggestion coming from someone who is going to eventually have a full-blown crying fit nervous breakdown. Of that, we could only hope, if he's the unstable hot mess that some have thought he is. His followers lack objectivity because they think he's fine. But have faith normal people, they are becoming less in number. Much good can come from this virus though, like a better, closer to free, health care system. There are still insurance plans available. The stimulus check is coming tomorrow, I suppose, and I'm pretty much okay now since I got sent some extra income, seeing as extended family doesn't send me money at all. How does the Chilean currency exchange these days anyway? For the good of the planet, we all need to work together. And also, how does the Euro exchange? I do not know this. But anyway, the stimulus check is something I can save money with. Having class online is not so bad, staying home isn't so bad either. Not going to the office is also not so bad. Keeping yourself at home isn't that bad either, because there is no grocery shortage. You can order delivery but I'm holding off until my birthday. Keeping myself well right now is a full-time job. I'm trying to avoid the virus, and despite having anti-vaxxer friends, I have to say that I'm getting the vaccine. On my Facebook page, there is a general rule of do not criticize my health care choices. That makes you the same category as my family. By working together on this planet, we could work to improve our global health care system, in which the virus has exposed many flaws. We need to help each other fix things, we cannot stay lone wolves with that fact. It is self-destructive as a species not to ask for help. Fixing our broken health care system should be our top priority if only because so many people rely on it. The fact is that healthcare on this planet sucks. It needs work, it needs to be put back together or built into something that can be managed better. Health is everybody's human right except in the United States. So let's make our priority to fix it.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez6 years ago in The Swamp
Current America
American politics is currently revolving around fear and hate. This is something that is not uncommon in American politics. We have seen it post 9/11, during the Civil Rights Era and during the Civil War, to name a few prominent examples. What is uncommon and the difference between those times and now, is our loss of hope. Our loss of common identity and our loss of political balance.
By Amanda Clark6 years ago in The Swamp
Universal Basic Income could be the "social vaccine" against this crisis
Covid-19 is caused by a new type of coronavirus. We have been familiar with coronaviruses in humans since 1960 . Still, this coronavirus that we are facing right now is a new one, and does not respond to the old treatments we have identified as working until now. Therefore, we are facing a medical crisis of enormous magnitude because we lack the collective knowledge in dealing with such a virus. As a result, people suffer and some, unfortunately, die.
By Anca Stănescu6 years ago in The Swamp
How Would I Handle the Entire COVID-19 Crisis?
I would give the post office enough money to stay open, despite rumors of shutting it down in June, which would never happen anyway because that is unconstitutional. The United States cannot survive without the postal service, period. I would also be donating thousands of ventilators to anybody who asked, not leave states in the lurch. I'm seeing this crisis as an opportunity to test myself, to see if I can handle stress better than I ever have, despite the fact that, in the present, I have trouble handling stress. I'm going to need to pay for a real therapist so I can learn better stress management skills eventually.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez6 years ago in The Swamp
2020 The Year Of Living Dangerously
So deceptive, so sudden the world was thrust into a tailspin of regrettable decisions. The sheer scope of this great tragedy has pushed mankind almost to the brink of insanity. Governments the world over are trying desperately to combat this plague on two fronts, economically, and medically. The enormous amount of destruction in lives and livelihoods lost due to this scourge that has paralyzed nations around the globe continues.
By Dr. Williams6 years ago in The Swamp
